Correspondence
by Kairos27
Summary: Aurikku. A love and a sorrow that might never have existed, written on a lost letter. Postgame.
1. The First Letter

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix [formerly Squaresoft].  
  
Note: While writing my FFVIII series **'At The Last'**, I got an inspiration to write yet another FFX story. I've written some before, but they all crashed and burned before I could post them, or they simply fell flat and were left to rot, so I deleted them. Now, _here we go again_, and this time I'm committed to make this thing work. [I think.]  
  
This piece might, or might **not be**, multi-chaptered. I don't mean for it to be, because I have _other_ projects to work on, but if you, my dear readers, want this story to continue, I will try to accommodate you. If you wish for it to continue, tell me in your reviews. So, enjoy.  
  
-  
  
**"CORRESPONDENCE"**  
  
Inspired by Final Fantasy X  
  
by Kairos27  
  
-  
  
"Rikku?"  
  
The Al Bhed girl, lying facedown on her bunk, didn't move or respond. She merely sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the rumbling of their huge airship as it traveled, painfully slowly, towards Luca.  
  
"Rikku, I know you're in there. May I come in?"  
  
It was Lulu's voice. Of course it would be _her_; Yuna was probably still too miserable with heartache to talk to anybody right about now. Not that anybody blamed her. No one did. If there was any blaming going on, it was probably directed towards Tidus, though everyone knew in their hearts that _he _couldn't have done anything different. He would have disintegrated into the ocean mist anyway, even if he _hadn't_ done that theatrical leap off of the airship.  
  
To say the least, Rikku was drained. Emotionally. So much had happened in only a few hours—well, not so much, but it sure felt like it. Tidus' departure had shaken them all to the core, even more so than Auron's had. After all, Auron was already in his thirties, and was a legend among Guardians. Thus he seemed almost _detached_ from this world, so it seemed almost fitting for him to leave their world the way he did.  
  
But Tidus? Tidus had been Auron's foil; so foolish, so daring...and so _alive_. He had opened up the most sensitive part of Yuna's heart, a part that had closed off when her father died and she made her resolve to become a Summoner: the part that governed the well of tears and sorrow. And he had taken her heart, and then he had gone as mysteriously as he came.  
  
It all wasn't fair. Rikku had seen it, Lulu had seen it, Wakka had seen it—hell, and even _Cid_ had seen it, though he had been at a distance. They watched Yuna, alone and trembling, sit there on the edge, staring straight ahead into the mist.  
  
Everyone's heart broke, just a little.  
  
Wakka had carried Yuna back inside, and she had retreated into one of the rooms and had not come out since. Rikku, too, holed herself up in another room, trying to digest the storm of emotions.  
  
-  
  
"Rikku," Lulu said, "I'm not leaving until you open up. I have something important for you."  
  
Rikku rolled over. She wanted to be left alone right now, but curiosity is as curiosity does, so she got up and unlocked the door.  
  
"There you are," Lulu said, a bit reprovingly. "You don't look too happy to see me right now, so I'll make this quick. Here." She handed Rikku several small, wrinkled pages with writing coating both sides. "It was addressed to you," she added, pointing to the name printed boldly in black ink on the side of one paper. "Trust me, I didn't read it."  
  
"Where'd you find this? Whose is this?" Rikku asked, as she took the papers, which crackled as she opened them.  
  
"As you know," Lulu said solemnly, "Auron had Masamune with him when he left. But his other katanas are still here. He left them here for Yuna, for all of us. Wakka and I went to take them to Yuna, along with..." Lulu paused, "...along with Tidus' swords. As we were doing so, I found this wrapped around the handle of Auron's original Katana. I recognized his handwriting, and your name."  
  
"Thank you, Lulu," Rikku said softly.  
  
The older woman merely nodded and left, and closed the door gently behind her.  
  
-  
  
_"Why would Auron want to write to me? Why not to Yunie?"_  
  
This was the thought that now throbbed through Rikku's brain as she flopped back down onto the bunk and opened the pages. Auron's handwriting was firm, but not smooth. The whole thing was done in black ink, on cheap paper.  
  
It was written in Spiran, such writing as one found in Bevelle or Luca. Although her ability to read Spiran was not as smooth as it should have been, it was still outstanding compared to that of her father and brother, or even the entire Al Bhed populace. She turned the light on a little brighter and began to read.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
_A word of warning.  
  
If you, traveler, are reading these lines, and are not the person whom I desire to read this, I can only hope that you are truthful and honorable enough to turn these papers over to Rikku, daughter of the Al Bhed chieftain Cid, and not read any further. If she is no longer in the mortal world, then I charge you, traveler, to burn these papers and cast the ashes to the four winds, and never speak of it again. If you continue to read of this regardless, then I pray that the curse of the Unsent will strike you down and inflict misery upon you until the end of your days.  
_  
-  
  
Rikku smiled a little bit. In writing, he could be just as melancholic as he had been in real life.  
  
A line drawn in red ink separated the above preface from the actual body of the letter. She settled back in the bunk and continued her reading.  
  
-  
  
_To Rikku.  
  
If you are reading this, then that means that I am gone, because I would never leave my Katana in anybody else's care if I was there with you. I shall say this once again, to remind you: I am dead, Rikku; I have been for most of Yuna's lifetime. I am an Unsent.  
  
You are probably wondering why I am writing to you; I should be writing to Yuna. After all, I was her Guardian, and I should be expected to leave a few pearls of wisdom for her. I have written to her; she should receive that letter too. But you are equally deserving of a letter.  
  
Why? Because you are young, Rikku, and your heart is in the first flower of blossom. Yes, this is an awkward subject, but from what I know of your father, Cid is not the kind of man who will sit down and tell you this, praiseworthy and loving though he is. He will try to protect you from this topic rather than discuss it with you. Tidus and Wakka do not understand, perhaps Lulu does, but it will bring too much pain to her to speak of her first love, as it ended in tragedy. Yuna is in the same boat as you, so she will hardly be in a position to explain to you, either._  
  
-  
  
Rikku blushed slightly. Here was Auron turning all father-like. Again.  
  
-  
  
_I can see it in Yuna's eyes as she sits by the fire. After our short sojourn at Macalania, her eyes have become brighter everytime she looks at Tidus. It is love, I know. Something happened between them. I will not speak of that here any further, for this is not her letter; it is yours.  
  
But I will add that I fear for Yuna's heart. I know that Tidus comes from a dream world that may or may not be real. Jecht was from the same place, but he seemed real enough, what with him becoming Sin...but what of it? If Jecht—Sin—dies, as we hope he will, this will break the link between the dream Zanarkand and Spira. And Tidus—what will happen to him when the link does break? If he is lost, I dare not think about what will happen to Yuna.  
_  
-  
  
"He's already lost, Auron," she said sadly.  
  
-  
  
_Rikku, I want you to help Yuna for me. She is strong; but this blow, if it should ever happen, strikes at the heart. That is worse than any physical injury, you well know. I cannot be there for you physically anymore, but for my sake, be there for her, and I will be there as well.  
_  
-  
  
"Auron seemed to know everything in advance," Rikku thought aloud. "If he did, why didn't he tell?"  
  
-  
  
_In the end, however, I do not want to jump to conclusions. I can only wish the best for Yuna. And here is the point I have been making thus far: Love, Rikku, is a saving grace and a dying curse.  
  
With that said, now herein begins the more awkward stage of my letter. I have hemmed and hawed over this page, trying to find the correct words, trying to phrase it correctly so that there will be as few misunderstandings as possible.  
  
When I was young, before I met Lord Braska, I was a warrior monk in the ranks of Yevon. I was highly favored in the eyes of the Maesters, so much so that they offered the hand of one of the priest's daughters in marriage, to me.  
  
But I was young. I was stubborn and hotheaded. I did not love the girl, though she was indeed beautiful and kind. There was not the least outwardly imperfection on her. But she had one fatal flaw: I did not love her, and that was that. So, for my vehement refusal, I was stripped of my title and banished. Wes Kinoc took my place, and you know the rest. I remember the high priest saying to me: "If you do not ' love' my daughter, then you will never love anybody."  
  
He lied. I have. What did he know?  
  
You remember the Thunder Plains? When we dragged you from pillar to post, amidst your screaming and begging? I had never seen you so frightened in the short time I had known you. And it unnerved me, truly it did.  
_  
-  
  
Rikku's eyes nearly popped out of her head. He had never been this personal before. And she had a premonition of where this was going.  
  
-  
  
_You are so cheerful, so sunny, that it almost hurts just to look at you; I, who have lived in darkness, if you can call it living, for thirteen years. Even Tidus, in his youth, was less spirited than you, having been deeply depressed by hatred of his father and sorrow for his mother. Perhaps you, too, keep bitter secrets, but for now, I would like to believe that you do not. I know you will grow into a beautiful young woman, daring and childlike, when I am gone. Things that once frightened you will frighten you no longer. You will be honored, as a Guardian should.  
  
But when heartbreak comes, Rikku, never deny your inner feelings. Never hide your fear, your grief, or your anger, as I often wished you would do. For now, as we draw close to the end, I can see that it only makes your character more deep and meaningful than I had wanted to admit._  
  
-  
  
Here Auron's handwriting became a little hesitant.  
  
-  
  
_Once Sin is defeated, I will leave this earth, for there is no reason that an Unsent should remain. The dead must never trouble the living—I broke that rule, and now it is time for me to rest. I will miss everyone, but a secret part of my heart, in the Farplane and beyond, will yearn for you most of all—that secret part of my heart that was touched once, and only once...by you. Something that even the high priest's daughter, in all her beauty, could never attain even though I know she greatly desired it. But I gave it to you, even though it was far too late for me...for us.  
  
I will never be able to say these words to you, to your face, but I pray that you will hear them in your heart. One day we will meet again, and I promise you this: I will show you, with all my soul, what you have awakened in me.  
  
Until then, live life the way you always have: cheerfully and without reservation. Let the sun in your heart shine through. Find that special man who will stand by your side forever, and love without holding back. Continue to dream with everything you have, because, as Tidus is a fine example, dreams may be fleeting, but they are a solid rock in times of turmoil.  
  
Because that is how you drew me to you. That is why everyone loves you, but I hope you will understand that 'everyone' does not necessarily include me...because I want you to know that I feel something far more different, far deeper, than what they feel. _

_In my heart, in my secret universe where the flowers bloom and the stars shine,** you** are there, my one and only, forevermore.  
  
Auron  
_  
-  
  
The thin papers fell gently from Rikku's hand as she realized Auron's final, underlying message. Tears pooled in her emerald eyes.  
  
"Auron, why didn't you tell me?" she whimpered.  
  
Even if they had...if _she_ had known, it would have never worked out, wouldn't it? He was an Unsent, in his _thirties_; she was barely _sixteen_. Besides, she had always considered him standoffish yet reliable, and appreciated it, but had she been so blind as that?  
  
She realized that she would have never been able to see his emotions, because of his tinted glasses, which hid every emotion from her sight. And of course, he had remained comfortably aloof up until his disappearance. He never once looked, or acted, in any way that would have betrayed what he had confided to her in his letter. He treated her like a daughter, just as he did to Yuna. Never like a lover.  
  
How long had he felt this way? Not for very long, she knew, but still...  
  
Rikku turned over to look, with blurry eyes, at the closed door. Somewhere in the airship Yuna was grieving for a vanished love. Everyone was feeling her loss. _But would they know that Rikku, too, mourned for someone gone?  
_  
She looked out the tiny porthole in her room. The sky was smothered with gray clouds. Cold, frozen rain rapped softly against the transparent material of the window.  
  
Out there somewhere, Tidus had vanished.  
  
And so had _he_.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
That night she dreamt of _him_, for the _first time_, of snuggling deep into his red coat and running her hands through his coarse, silver-shot hair, stroking his stubbled cheek, and knowing that he was returning her caresses, planting kisses in her sun-golden hair, and stroking her face and lips with smoothly-calloused fingers. Gone were his tinted lenses, no longer hiding the single auburn iris, whose burnt ocher glow made her breath catch in her throat and her young heart to tremble.  
  
If ever she had doubted that he could have ever loved her, if ever she had questioned the words that he wrote to her, this dream always banished her uncertainty. Never mind the thin red line between life and death that parted them, never mind the twenty years that separated them, never mind their regret for not taking a chance to close the distance between them before it was too late—for in dreams, such barriers do not exist.  
  
-  
  
And afterwards, when pyreflies danced before them in all their glory, while Yuna and Lulu gazed at the iridescent dashes of light and wept silently for the loves they had lost, Rikku closed _her_ sorrowing eyes and envisaged that sweet vision again...of what could have been, of what _should_ have been.  
  
-  
  
**FIN**  
  
-  
  
Postscript: My first Aurikku. Though I'm a bit more of a Rikku x Gippal [Rippal?] shipper, I like this pairing. It's nice and sweet.  
  
By the way, when I said this story might be multi-chaptered, I'm _not_ intending to make this into an Aurikku epic romance. Sorry guys. It's going to be more of a collection of Aurikku vignettes more than anything else, focusing on Rikku alone. That is, if it continues at all. I'm still not convinced I should carry on with this bit, although I do have a tentative second part in the works. Looks like I'll be continuing it anyway, but I do want feedback. Thanks.


	2. Let Me Dream Of You

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix [formerly Squaresoft].

So, this stuff takes place in the interim two years between FFX and FFX-2. This bit is about Rikku reminiscing amidst some old childhood friends, and beginning to 'come to terms' with Auron's letter. The problem is that her feelings [and this narrative] are all jumbled. Go me. But there are still shades of Aurikku here and there. Please review; I love reviews too much.

Some of the dialogue is in Al Bhed. Find a translator if you need it.

-

**"CORRESPONDENCE"**

Inspired by Final Fantasy X

by Kairos27

-

Bikanel Island was a hot, barren wasteland. It was also home to the Al Bhed Home...or what was left of it. But Home was Home, whether anything was left of it or not.

After Yuna's impassioned speeches to the people of Luca and Bevelle [yes, the poor girl had to say the same darn thing twice], she, Lulu, and Wakka returned home to Besaid to mourn, and to move on. But for Rikku, Besaid, the tropical island complete with palm trees and lovely beaches, was not truly home, though indeed the three Besaidians had become like family, and all a home really needs is a family. Being somewhat nationalistic, however, Rikku believed her home was with her people.

So to Bikanel Island she went.

-

-

"RIIIIIIIKUUUUUUUUU!!"

An excited, welcoming shriek tore through the air. Rikku perked up and turned to see an Al Bhed girl, dressed in a dark blue tank top, shorts, and boots, with two guns slung at her hips, one on each side, bounding towards her. Following her was another girl, dressed similarly but in a muted burgundy color, jogging casually behind.

As per the Al Bhed genome, both had sunny blond hair and abnormally bright green eyes, but unlike Rikku's, which were green irises with swirled pupils [a mark of a pure Al Bhed bloodline], their pupils were _normal_, indicating their membership to a minor Al Bhed genetic pool. Despite the slight difference, though, there was no doubt that this second genome was _fully_ Al Bhed, because of the _nonexistence of truly green irises_ in Spira _outside_ of the Al Bhed tribe, and therefore these 'normal-eyed' Al Bheds were treated as such, both by insiders and outsiders.

Anyway, the girl in front threw herself onto the former Guardian, kicking up a cloud of Bikanel sand as she did so. "E's cu kmyt oui'na cyva!" she yelled happily, swinging Rikku around crazily.

"Cdub dryd huf, Sesera," the other girl calmly chided as she walked up next to them.

With a sulk, the first girl, Sesera, released Rikku and stepped back. "Emie, oui'na cilr y byndo-buuban," Sesera pouted.

"Frydajan," Emie, the second girl, replied coolly.

Rikku had to blink for several moments before she really recognized whom these two girls were; she had been so lost in thought when she had come off the airship. "Sesera! Emie!" she gaped. She had _forgotten _all about them, and now that she remembered, she felt relieved that they _had_ indeed survived the destruction of Home, but also _guilty_ that they had been so far from her mind.

"You two...you're _alive_? How come I didn't see you?"

"Uh, Rikku...Fro yna oui dymgehk eh Spirah?" Sesera asked.

"Oh! Uh...E'ja paah cbaygehk ed vun duu muhk."

"That is all right," Emie said laboriously, her tongue working as she pronounced the words. "Sesera and I have been learned to speak Spiran, too. We do understand what you say."

-

Sesera and Emie were two of Rikku's childhood friends. Sesera, a tall, lanky personality, was a loony character, full of beans, whereas Emie was a quiet, sensible intellectual. The three had played and plotted together regularly up until Rikku's thirteenth birthday, when she had volunteered for her first salvage mission.

When Rikku had gone off on that machina salvage expedition that ended up with her becoming a Summoner's Guardian, Sesera and Emie had remained at Home...but not for long. Soon enough, the restless Sesera had gotten the crazy idea to have an 'excellent adventure' around Spira, never mind the fact that Sin was still on the rampage and the Al Bhed still faced violent discrimination.

Sesera was an orphan; a machina explosion had claimed both her parents when she was an infant. Emie's immediate family had raised her, but even so she had no 'legal' guardian. Not that there was _any such thing_ among the Al Bhed—_everyone _was family. Even so, Emie's family, and her friends and relations, tried to talk Sesera out of her plan. That didn't work. Soon, everything dissolved into a shouting match over whether Sesera should be allowed to start this 'excellent adventure'. Sesera then jumped up onto a table, yelled that Rikku, had gotten to go on a 'dangerous' salvage mission, and if Rikku did, she sure as hell had a right to. It was finally decided [though it was difficult because people were yelling over each other] that Sesera would be allowed to go, on condition that she did not go alone. Sesera said she would, but only ONE person could come with her. That made _more _people mad, but in the end, there was no stopping this affair. Emie, who had been the closest to Sesera throughout her life, was the obvious choice to be her companion, though Emie couldn't say that she really _wanted _to go.

Armed with guns [which, as luck would have it, were still illegal in Spira], ammunition, and pieces of gold Gil that Sesera had excavated from her own salvage missions [these were worth much more than the standard currency], the two set off on their 'excellent adventure': ready to get scalped, tarred and feathered, and to have some 'howling fine times'.

-

Rikku had received word of their 'mad escapade', as her father put it, by comm-sphere while she was still out in the Submerged Ruins. "It's downright crazy!" Cid had ranted.

And she then she had never heard from Sesera and Emie any more. Some of the more pessimistic people assumed they were dead, but those who really knew Sesera didn't really believe she could be done away with that easily. ["She's like a cockroach!"]

Until now...they were standing right in front of her.

-

Taking up Emie's practical suggestion to find a place more comfortable place to talk than in the burning hot sand, the three girls re-entered the huge airship, even as people were beginning to trickle out of the large vehicle. They ended up in a side room that contained exactly three chairs. Having sat down, Sesera resumed talking.

"We heard of your becoming a Guardian when we saw the marriage of Lady Yuna to that ugly blue-haired _pycdynt_ of a Guado," Sesera explained. "We saw the guns pointed towards you. We worried very much for your safety."

"Sesera had got the crazy idea to try to find you and rescue you. As if our _ytjahdina_ was not enough," Emie snapped.

"I know you did enjoy our _ytjahdina_, Emie—do not lie," Sesera shot back. Turning back to Rikku, she added, "We saw the sorry excuse for a _synneyka_ on sphere video that was being shown in public. Then it got cut off. But you—you were _ihsecdygypma_."

Rikku nodded absently. She recalled the events of that day: Tidus was openly seething with jealousy, Wakka was looking confused about the whole proceeding, Lulu was staring straight ahead, her eyebrows arched in disbelief, and Auron..._oh, Auron_...he looked blank, as usual—how she wished he could have...she could have..._they_ could have...

"...So you had defeated Sin," Sesera prattled on, not knowing that Rikku wasn't really paying attention to her anymore. "And we are all very glad. We saw Lady Yuna's speech, and then we decided to come back to Home."

"We knew it had been _tacdnuoat_—once again, we learned by comm-sphere—those things are very _icavim_—but we came back anyway because we knew that we shall rebuild the Home after what Lady Yuna said," Emie put in.

"Uh-huh," Rikku said vaguely.

Emie then realized that Rikku was not listening. Looking intensely at her expression, Emie then saw that Rikku had a very faraway look on her face; she was reminiscing. Sesera looked at Emie; they nodded to each other, and got up.

"We will not bother you, we will leave you now," Emie said quietly, patting Rikku's shoulder.

"_Hu!_" Rikku's eyes suddenly snapped back into focus. "Uh...I...uh, I mean, E...E fyhd oui du cdyo. Ed'c paah cu muhk. E tuh'd fyhd du..."

Surprised, Sesera and Emie plopped back down into their chairs. "Fryd?" Sesera asked.

Rikku looked away. "E tuh'd fyhd du muca dnylg uv oui kioc ajan ykyeh."

Emie's eyebrows shot up. "Fro?"

"Rikku, fryd yna oui dymgehk ypuid?" Sesera wondered.

Then Rikku turned her head, and glanced into Sesera's and Emie's green eyes, with those 'normal' circular pupils. Her long-lost friends.

"E maynhat cusadrehk vnus so xiacd. E maynhat dryd E cruimt hajan fycda desa fedr druca E muja."

At that, both her companions seemed to comprehend it all, and they nodded to each other once more. "We see it now, what you are saying," Emie continued in Spiran. "You do speak of what Lady Yuna said. She said, 'Never forget them'...I understand now what she meant."

Sesera agreed. "Yes. I do not fool myself when I see the _cythacc_ in Lady Yuna's eye. She speaks of lost time. Lost love."

-

Sesera and Emie were astute than she had given them credit for. At Sesera's stilted pronunciation of "_Lost love_," her thoughts [at first] immediately flitted to memories of the despair on Yuna's face as she looked into the misty heavens, but then re-drifted back to the thin pieces of cheap paper, covered with the writing of _him_ who could have been _hers_, more precious to her than anything she could _ever_ have imagined, now folded neatly and carefully in her shirt.

And she let out an unconscious sigh that sounded, oh God forbid, _heartsick_.

"Rikku?" Sesera suddenly sounded worried. She had heard the mournful overtone in that breath of air.

"Nothing! I, uh..." Rikku sighed. "Nothing. _Hudrehk_."

"_Huhcahca!_ I do not believe it." Sesera sounded firm. "But...we will not speak of it, if you so wish." She got up and scratched the back of her head, and then added, "I suppose we shall just read of it when it comes out as a _hujam_, eh?"

"Sesera!" Emie rebuked a bit sharply. "There is no need for that. You sound almost _ehcumahd!_"

Taken aback, Sesera's shoulders dropped. "_Cunno_," she mumbled.

"Not to me, _cdibet_," Emie sighed. "To Rikku."

Sesera's shoulder dropped even further. "Rikku..." She scratched the back of her head again, nervously. "Was that an insult to you? _E's cunno_. I am a _vuum eteud_."

Rikku stared back up at the two girls. What an awkward conversation they'd been having! Working their way around words, trying to hide, trying to pry. They wanted to _know_, and she just wanted to be left _alone_, but she was scared that if she didn't try to spend this time with these two, who had once been so dear to her, one day, they would just up and leave...just as **_he_ **did...without them _ever understanding each other_, the way they were now.

She didn't want to make that mistake again. Not with anybody, she realized. Not with her father, not with her friends, not even with Brother, who sometimes really deserved to be shut up in the loony bin.

Rikku sighed, a much longer sigh. The only way to go about fixing that was to tell nothing but the truth. A truth she would much rather dismiss, but was it worth losing this chance to reconnect, in this uncertain world where she realized _anything _could happen?

"No, you're right, Sesera. There is something...I haven't told you."

-

The three girls later found themselves entering Rikku's room in the airship. Once they were all inside, Sesera and Emie plopped unceremoniously onto the bunk as Rikku began rummaging through her things.

The first thing that caught Sesera's eye was a large, somewhat orange-reddish metal contraption that Rikku briefly slid onto her arm, before removing it and placing it on the floor. Sesera was stumped, but Emie, having studied and read extensively, both at Home and during their 'excellent adventure', immediately recognized it.

"_Y Makahtyno Faybuh!_" Emie exclaimed, awed. "It is _Kutryht_! The Hand of God!"

Sesera's jaw dropped. "_Naymmo?_" she gasped, reaching forward cautiously to stroke the metal coat of the ultimate claw. "Rikku, you have really went to obtain a _Makahtyno Faybuh_?"

"It's right in front of you," Rikku said a bit wryly, smiling. "In fact, I have others. But of course, that's the most powerful. And legendary."

"You picked it up on your _xiacd_?" Sesera asked.

"_Upjeuicmo_."

A whistle escaped Sesera's lips as she withdrew her hand. "What a time you must have had!"

"Yeah," Rikku said. "I guess I did. But you guys, I heard, went off on your own quest."

"Yes, our 'excellent adventure'!" Sesera laughed. "We had fun..."

Emie groaned. "...But it was also quite _buehdmacc_. Not like yours, Rikku."

-

_Buehdmacc_. Pointless. No, Rikku had to admit, their mission _hadn't_ been pointless; if they hadn't done it, Sin, the Sin that had destroyed their livelihoods, would still be lurking, hiding, killing, rebirthing. Now Sin was gone, and there was a lot to be said for that.

But if so, why, then, did she feel so listless? She should feel glad, triumphant. She was alive. She was well on her way to revered fame, along with her companions. But something was missing.

Maybe if she retold the story, she would be able to pinpoint exactly why and what. She really didn't want to admit to herself that she might already know the answer.

"I joined the party when I was trying to kidnap Yuna..."

-

-

Several hours later, Rikku finally fell silent. She had withheld nothing from them, telling every truth that she knew could not be hidden forever.

Sesera dashed a tear from her eye. "So that is what Lady Yuna spoke of. What and whom we should not forget."

"Yes." Even the normally reserved Emie looked more than a little touched. "Sir Auron, he did not tell you what he feel earlier?"

"I couldn't see it!" Rikku suddenly burst out, burying her face in her hands. "I only found out...at the very end, when it was too late."

-

And at that moment, she realized what was missing; or at the very least, she was forced to admit it for the last time, what made it seem so _pointless_.

"_Yunie must feel the same way,"_ she realized. With Tidus, her sunlight, gone, the Calm Yuna had to go home to, the one she had helped bring to Spira, was really nothing at all. To the ignorant masses, the Calm would be a long-awaited godsend, and they would forever remember Yuna as being their heroine, but they would never _sincerely_ thank her for what she had done. They all believed that Yuna had done it out of her own merit, on her own strength, and lived to tell about it—the thought would _never_ cross their minds that she had had to _pay a price_. Yuna had given up her personal happiness, and her entire life, to give them theirs. The world would continue turning, the sun, moon and stars would continue their dance across space, people would continue their work and play under the eye of heaven, and celebrate their newfound 'undying' peace. But Yuna, the one who had led the quest to see it done, would be alone.

So would Rikku.

_I don't have to feel this way! I didn't have to! I wouldn't have, if it weren't for the letter! Why the hell did Auron have to write me that letter? Why couldn't he have just taken it with him to the Farplane, and the hell with it all? Why? Why would he leave me with this feeling of empty loneliness? Doesn't he know that he...broke my heart? _

-

She must have said that out loud, because Emie's quiet voice cut in gently.

"Because he thought you would have need of it. Would you have rather not love, and never know the truth, or would you have the truth and yet sorrow because he tell you of his love?"

"No!" Rikku cried, and to her chagrin, tears began to seep out of her eyes. She tried to hide them, but for someone usually so candid, doing that was impossible.

A look of compassion washed over Sesera's face as she got down, knelt next to her friend and put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Rikku, Emie is right. I think he knew it would cause you hurt, but someday you will be comforted to know of it. I think Sir Auron believe that love may be a mistake, but it is a worthy mistake. He just want you to know that you were not unloved, that you were worth more than you think, and that you mean the world to him." One had to hand it to Sesera: she may _not_ have been very book-smart, and she was rather foolish and impractical, but, when one considered her knowledge of the cruel world and her savoir-faire, she was very _wise_.

Emie followed suit, stroking Rikku's hair consolingly as the girl wept and at the same time tried not to, leading to strange combinations of sobs and coughs. "Ricr, ed'c ymm nekrd," Emie comforted. "Pameaja, yht ra femm nasyeh ymeja eh ouin tnaysc."

And at that—Sesera and Emie didn't seem to realize the truth of their words cut deeply into her heart—Rikku broke down entirely. She buried her face into Sesera's blue shirt, and her hand clutched Emie's.

"You save Spira," Sesera's kindly whisper drifted to her ears. "But you feel it was lonely and pointless without him. Is it not strange? He wrote only a letter to you, and it touch your heart so very deep."

"You never know, did you?" Emie added, resting the full length of her free arm on Rikku's shoulder, exerting a friendly pressure, while continuing to stroke her blonde hair. "You never know that you _could_ have loved him." Tapping Rikku on her collarbone, she added, "You have space in your heart for him that you did not know. And he has space in his heart for you. He open up your heart, and you open his."

Rikku shuddered, as if she was sinking deeper into her melancholy, and more tears soaked Sesera's clothes.

Sesera hushed her, rocking her like a crying infant. "_Ra femm fyed vun oui_. Unlike Sir Tidus, we know where he is gone in passing; he is not lost, only gone before. And in the life to come, he will be healed of all his hurts and he will come to you, fight away your sorrow, and hold your hand evermore."

It was almost too much to hope for, as Rikku bawled, not caring that her face was becoming red and puffy with crying. Selfish, she knew, because she felt sure that Yuna was feeling the exact same way, and probably acting bravely, choking back the tears even when she was alone—while here Rikku was sobbing her heart out, and at the same time berating her weakness.

The downpour of emotions and confessions sapped Rikku of her strength, and when the tears finally stopped, she sat limply against Sesera, hiccupping like mad. _Cred_, but she was so stupid. Falling in love with the words on pieces of cheap paper, falling in love with the man whose rough hand had written them, when he was already gone...too late.

"Hold his memory close to your heart," she distantly heard Emie say. "Do not think that his love was only for the end, only to make you hurt. Believe rather, and remember what he did for you when he was still with you. Remember the way he were, and dream of him."

With that, Emie slowly lifted Rikku into her arms, like a baby [though Emie was Rikku's height, Sesera was particularly taller than they], and helped her lie down on the bunk. "You are tired," Emie said gently. "Anything else can wait until you are refresh."

Sesera nodded as she unclasped Rikku's hair and tucked her in. "We go to see what the others are doing. We will come back."

Noiselessly, Emie and Sesera retreated out of them room, as Rikku's tired eyes closed, welcoming this final respite from her mixed-up emotions.

-

-

_She dreamed of him, but he was different now—his eyes were both fully functional, without the scar, and he was clean-shaven. Still hurt by her emotional breakdown, she sat on the nonexistent ground and drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them, letting him come to her. _

"_I'm sorry," were his first words._

"_How could you do this to me?" she shot back. "I don't understand."_

_She kept her eyes tightly closed—she did not want to look into his dusky eyes, and lose herself before she wanted to. _

_He sighed, and the richness of the sound fluttered her heartstrings as he sat down next to her. _

"_I didn't want to lie to you. I didn't want to take a lie to my grave."_

_She opened her eyes to glare at him. "I wish that you had lied."_

_His eyebrow lifted. "Really? And I thought you were the one who was trying to get me to open up."_

"_I don't need to hear this!" she screeched, and stood up, fully intending to turn around and walk away, but she hadn't taken more than two steps when she heard the rustling of clothes behind her and his arms winding themselves gently around her body. _

_Oh dear, now she was caught. Though she tried to act stiff and noncommittal, she failed terribly, seeing as he wasn't letting go and she wasn't trying to break away. _

"_Are you really here?" she hazarded._

"_Yes and no. The Farplane is the land of dreams, and the land of souls."_

_She grumbled. "So much for asking."_

"_Then don't," he said, his voice lowering to a husky whisper. Rikku's skin broke out into gooseflesh. This was not getting any better. Worse, she didn't even mind, because she was leaning into his chest. _

"_Why, Auron?" she whimpered. "Just tell me why." _

_He sighed one more time, and this time, she felt his lips brushing the nape of her neck. _

"_Because I love you. If ever you believe anything, believe that I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes. But for now, all I want is...to see you happy. I want the world to see the sun shine in your heart, just like you showed me. Do that, and my heart will go with you always..."_

-

-

The vision dissipated like smoke from a campfire, but Rikku did not awake. Instead, she continued her slumber, one that, maybe, would restore her to herself.

Never again would she fall asleep, without praying for another dream of him to come—for when she awakened, the wound would always heal.

-

**FIN **Part 2

-

Postscript: This one took a _long_ time. I mean a **_long_** time.

True to my form, I have introduced Original Characters, who are crucial to all my stories. They always are. Anyway, I am pleased that you all want me to continue, so here it is, for your pains. I also have a third part in the process, so look for it sometime soon. Hopefully. It will continue whether you like it or not, I suppose. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!


	3. In My Hands

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix [formerly Squaresoft].

I LOVE MY REVIEWS. I am SO grateful to you all. I'm going to continue, definitely.

Now, herein begins a move into a prelude [of sorts] leading into FFX-2. I have decided that I _will _indeed post a FFX-2 companion piece to 'Correspondence'...but that'll have to wait till this one is fully finished. [So don't get too excited.] And, if you haven't familiarized yourself with my Original Characters, go back and read Part 2. They are very important. Their English [Spiran] is a bit queer because they're newer to it than Rikku is; so there.

-

"CORRESPONDENCE" 

Inspired by Final Fantasy X

by Kairos27

-

Rikku walked down to 'ground zero', that is, what was left of Home, and for a moment, just stared at the salvagers and the builders pottering about on the foundation, shouting to each other and pointing to sheets of blueprints that were scattered here and there. Home had been a large monument to the advancement of technology, and it was going to take a long while before everything was the way it used to be, considering that Cid had cockamamie plans to make New Home, as he put it, "a hundred times better and bigger than the old one!"

Well, she couldn't blame her father; Cid had always been quixotic. Besides, Home had not been _entirely_ destroyed, so there was still enough to work off of, and they had machinery to help them. Salvage missions were still underway, even during the rebuilding.

Tents were strewn here and there around the construction site, and people were scurrying around, going in and out as they pleased. Everyone seemed busy.

"_Rao drana!_ Rikku!" Emie called, jogging easily towards her. She was holding something that looked like a wrench, and her face was smudged. Apparently, she'd been occupied, too. "Come over, and please to help us lift the beam."

Emie motioned to a spot a few yards away, where a group of Al Bheds was struggling to carry a steel beam. Once they had Rikku's help, the beam slid easily into place on the mechanical crane, which lifted the beam up to the desired spot.

"Frana'c Sesera?" Rikku asked, when Emie put down her wrench and wiped her forehead.

Emie smiled. "Would you believe, she went off on her own crazy _cymjyka secceuh_! Leave a note when I wake up. So she is not here." She looked at Rikku. "And how are you? Fine?"

Rikku opened her mouth to utter a noncommittal 'Fine', but **_his_** voice from her dream returned to her thoughts:

{_"I want the world to see the sun shine in your heart, just like you showed me. Do that, and my heart will go with you always..."_}

"I'm doing great, actually," Rikku said cheerfully. "I figure that's better for everyone concerned, you know?"

"Indeed," Emie said thoughtfully, scrutinizing Rikku's sudden optimism. "I am glad."

Rikku nodded energetically. "So, what now, now that Sesera's not here? Do you have any idea what she's going for?"

"I don't know, really. Sesera does the most unexpected things...I remember our _ytjahdina_, she would do anything short of being killed when she wanted to do something. I hope she will keep safe."

"I think so; she seems hardy—and _milgo_—enough," Rikku joked.

Emie smiled indulgently, and they walked a little ways from the construction site. Once they were out of earshot of the nearest person, Emie whispered. "I see you have no more sadness. You are better?"

"Yeah..." Rikku looked down at her boots. "I dreamed about him."

"Ah, you see what we say before?" Emie said kindly, patting her on the shoulder. "Ymm oui ryja du tu ec pameaja...yht ra femm lusvund oui eh ouin tnays. Oui caa, ra cdemm mejac uh."

They were cut off by someone shouting, "Emie! Kad ouin pidd pylg rana! Ec Rusa kuehk du napiemt edcamv?"

Emie rolled her eyes. "Fryd y zang," she mumbled. She squeezed Rikku's shoulder, said, "I will speak more with you later," and retraced her steps.

Rikku watched as she went, and decided at that moment to go find her father.

-

-

She found Cid standing in what used to be the east wing of Home, shouting directives at the workers there. His baldhead was shining with sweat from the Bikanel sun.

"Pops?"

Cid turned to see his daughter standing at his elbow. "Ah, Rikku! Where were you all afternoon yesterday? Brother told me he'd seen you go into the airship and you hadn't come out since."

"I was getting reacquainted with Sesera and Emie, Pops." Rikku toyed with her glove.

"Sesera? Yalek's daughter?" Cid almost laughed. "The kid made it back from her fanatical venture in one piece, did she?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "We talked for a long time, considering we haven't seen each other for almost three years."

Cid sighed. "Anyway, that silly brother of yours is begging me to let him go on a salvage mission with his friends. I told him that he could expect _not_ to go, until our little Yuna makes _sure_ that the new society will treat us right."

"Um," Rikku said vaguely.

"Speaking of which, Rikku, I've got big plans for New Home. I've told you, correct? It's going to be fabulous. This Eternal Calm—well, you can feel it in the air, can't you? No more fear..."

He put his arm around her, in a rare exhibition of fatherly love. "And I have you to thank for it," he added, giving her a little squeeze. "You know...what you did was worth it. But you had me worried for a while."

Rikku looked up at her father, his usually 'tough' gaze softened, and for a fleeting instant saw _sorrow_—a feeling that seemed alien to Cid—flit though his eyes. For a brief moment, her heart deluged with love for her father, and she jumped into his surprised arms.

"Cunno, tytto," she whispered.

"Now, now..." he said gently, patting her back, "don't blubber. You're my sunshine, Rikku...I don't want to see rain coming down on you, you hear? _No one does_."

Releasing him, she nodded. Cid ruffled his daughter's hair. "Smile." With that he turned back to the workers [some of whom had stopped to watch this touching scene] and yelled at them to keep moving.

_No one wants to see me sad. _Rikku mulled this thought over and over as she walked back towards the airship.

It was true. She had always been the happy one on Yuna's quest, and if she were downhearted, the others would have been, as well. Fine. For the world's sake, she would be happy, the way the populace wanted her to be, and how they would remember her.

When she got to her room, she saw a piece of paper neatly taped flat against her door, so that when the door slid to and fro, the paper would not get lost in the cracks. She took down the letter, surprised that she did not notice it before. When she had come out of her room, she had not looked back as the door closed, which was why she missed it.

The handwritten note was from Sesera, written in Spiran. [Interestingly, Sesera's writing was better than her speaking.] It ran thus:

_Rikku,_

_It was pleasant seeing you again after such a long time's absence; I am sorry that I rushed away so quickly. Emie will tell you, if she has not already, why I have gone, but I shall come back very soon, hopefully. I left her a note. Hopefully you two will have nice times while I am gone, but when I come back you may expect that I would like you to take us to meet Lady Yuna in Besaid. _

_Until then, stay well, and everything will be all right._

–_Sesera._

_P.S. I am thankful that you confided your secret in us. I realize that it was a very sensitive topic, and that is caused much pain for you to utter of it. I hope you are not still sad; it is not your nature, and sadness does not fit you. Be assured that we will guard your secret well. _

-

That evening, Emie and Rikku were back in Rikku's room on the airship, talking—Emie insisted on practicing her stilted Spiran. Emie was describing their 'excellent adventure'; saying that _her_ version of the story was bound to be more factual than the overenthusiastic Sesera's, and the one that Rikku should listen to first.

"Sesera say we go just for the fun of it. We do nothing really useful, though we did learn a lot along the way. But I envy you. I never think that you would defeat Sin and look for the _Makahtyno Faybuh_," Emie was saying admiringly. "I at first think that they are not real, they are _makaht_. But now I see they are real."

"Yeah." Rikku stretched. "At first, when I got Godhand, I thought it was too good to be true."

Emie laughed. "On our _ytjahdina_, Sesera and I, we travel all over Spira, but we never find new weapons like you—we keep our machina—our guns. Two to each." Emie pointed to her belt, which was similar to Sesera's. It had two holsters—one on the left, one on the right. Each held a streamlined pistol, glinting with steel. Rikku hadn't looked at them this closely before, and she had to admit that they looked pretty cool.

"Wow..." Rikku breathed. "Can I hold one?"

"Sure...don't shoot me," Emie said, as she withdrew one pistol and handed it to Rikku. Rikku turned it over and over in her hands before giving it back. "I've seen plenty of machina, but those are really nice. How did you get them?"

"Ah." Emie held up her finger. "It is part of what we call a 'dress-sphere'. We took the gun, and do not use the rest."

"What's a 'dress-sphere'?"

Emie blushed. "It was supposed to be secret. You will not tell that I tell?"

Rikku, too curious to care about making promises, quickly agreed. "Course."

"My little brother Shinra, he invents the system. You have a sphere—" here Emie took out a small sphere—"if you activate it, it will dress you up into a new battle costume." Emie sighed. "Shinra, he is a little boy genius. It is amazing to see how they work. I give him some treasure sphere, and he makes them into dress-spheres. But Sesera and I, we do not use them often, if at all; just the guns. This mine."

"Wow," Rikku breathed, as Emie handed her the sphere. "What kind of outfit is it?"

"It is called Gun—ah, be careful!" Emie exclaimed as Rikku accidentally activated the sphere. A gentle flash of light accompanied the event, and, before one could say "Yevon" the deed was done, and Rikku was dressed in...well, to say the least, _racier_ clothes: a very tight-fitting t-shirt that was cut off at the midriff and had an _extremely_ low neckline; followed by very short blue shorts and a queer, long piece of ruffled fabric that hid most of her left leg and flapped in the air; and the costume was topped off by a pair of thigh-high boots.

"It is called 'Gunner'," Emie finished lamely, as Rikku stared down at herself, half-horrified and half-excited. "We use the guns, but not the costume...you see why. Very...ah, _najaymehk_."

"Oh, gosh," Rikku said. "Wow. Just...wow."

"Uh, Rikku, you can deactivate it now," Emie said quickly. Reluctantly, Rikku deactivated the sphere, returning to her normal attire, and gave the sphere back to the somewhat embarrassed Emie.

"So you fought fiends with the...machina? Even though they were...illegal?"

"Oh yes. When we out in the open, no one see us, then it is fine. But when we go into big cities, we had to hide them. Also we had to hide our eyes."

"Um," Rikku nodded, remembered when she had had to do that with Wakka.

-

Conversation languished a little. Finally, Emie stood up. "I going to sleep," she said apologetically, "I am tired from the work."

"Oh! Of course...don't let me keep you up!" Rikku jumped to her feet, ready to see Emie off.

"Rikku," Emie asked, "You will remember not to tell about the dress-sphere? Because Shinra will be very mad if he knows."

"Of course not! Cross my heart!"

"Good, good." Emie hugged her briefly, and turned to go. "You sleep too...sweet dreams." Winking playfully, Emie exited the room, leaving a confused Rikku behind.

-

-

That night, however, Rikku couldn't sleep. She must have gotten _too much_ sleep last night. Even when all was quiet, meaning that everyone who cared to be asleep was asleep, she was still awake in her bunk, staring at the ceiling.

She mulled over what Emie had told her. Emie and Sesera had traveled the same roads, fought the same fiends, and faced the same hardships that Yuna and her group had. Only Sesera had gone for the _fun_ of it, and dragged Emie along. Emie had even confided that Sesera had five long, deep gash scars across her back, scars that would never heal—memoirs of a fiend who had tried, and failed by only the _smallest_ margin, to kill the willful Al Bhed. Sesera would have bled to death that night, had she been anyone else _but _Sesera, strong-willed, mischievous, and resilient. Emie herself had battle scars, long dark red lines drawn across her arms and upper back.

_Scars. _Rikku had many. Save for burn marks on her arm that were barely noticeable, a memory of the thunder spell that had struck her so many years ago, all of them she had received in the past two years, during the salvage mission and her quest with Yuna. She sighed and pulled the covers over her head.

Sleep would still not come.

Irrationally, as it happened before she fell asleep, her thoughts drifted from _her_ wounds to those of her cousin. Yunie's main scar must lie in her soul; she had always regretted that she could not do much to help the party when it came to brute strength, but emotionally, she bore more painful wounds that any of them combined...

_Except maybe Auron. _

_Oh cred_. Rikku winced and let out an involuntary whimper as she burrowed deeper into the sheets, curling up into a ball, trying to dampen the agonizing feeling of remorse and heartsickness that welled up in her stomach and traveled up to her chest and threatened to pour out of her eyes in the form of hot, large, salty tears.

She buried her head in the pillow, and cried. _So much for being everyone's happiness. I can't do this, Auron. I can't smile, tytto. What am I doing to myself? Why can't I stop this sadness? _

-

-

A brief flash of light startled her out of her tearful reverie. Jerking up in bed, wiping her eyes, she looked around.

It was a pyrefly; a lone pyrefly. Wide-eyed, she watched as it darted around her room, giving a gentle glow wherever it alighted. How had it come here? Had someone died in the night? Or was there a ghost, perhaps? Rikku shivered, and pulled the covers closer.

The pyrefly flitted easily up to her, and though it was nothing but a spot of light as far as she could see, it lit up her green eyes, making a virtual Eden shine out of them. Such was the magic of a pyrefly, for she knew [Yuna and Lulu had told her] that the light within a pyrefly is part of a human soul, which is the substance of true life.

She cupped her hands around the pyrefly, and it rested there, so it looked as if he held pure light in her hands. Its presence suddenly sent a feeling of comfortable warmth through her body, as if someone was embracing her from behind. Rikku shuddered despite the warmth; she knew the feeling too well now. However, when she looked behind her, no one was there.

Suddenly, the pyrefly flew out of her hand and paused, flitting in midair, and in a split second flew into Rikku's body, making contact with her sternum. Rikku gasped as she felt a slight pressure in her chest, but it soon faded.

She felt...comforted, all of a sudden. Everything that she had cried about, all her grief and fears and angers, melted away, leaving no trace.

Rikku lay down, and let out a huge sigh as her eyes closed.

As long as she lived, she never knew exactly where—or _whom_—that pyrefly came from, but maybe, her spirit knew all too well; for though she did not dream of _him_ as vividly as she had before that night, it seemed that, from then on, her body, her soul, and her spirit pulsed with the cadence of _his_ heartbeat, a sound she had never heard when they were together, but recognized all the same.

Being happy suddenly didn't seem so hard after all, not after being _touched by a pyrefly_.

-

**FIN** part 3

-

This was actually shorter than most of my chapters, and perhaps the least Aurikku-ish of them. But I had to somehow explain the transition between 'sad' and 'happy' Rikku, so there you have it. I will continue, but MORE reviews would be much appreciated! [I'm such a pig.]


	4. The Last Letter

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix, formerly Squaresoft.

I realize that there are lots of people who don't think that a romantic relationship between Auron and Rikku could have worked out in any way. In fact, I shared that opinion, which is why I stage this story _after_ the main plotline, to ensure that it would never have a chance to work out at all. Sad, no? All that is left to build on are memories.

And another note: This will be the last part of 'Correspondence'. It seems a bit rushed, but this is, truly, the end of this story. However, this will not be the last Aurikku that I will write. I have plenty of tales still in store, I just need to type the ideas out and present them to you.

-

**"CORRESPONDENCE"**

Inspired by Final Fantasy X

by Kairos27

-

That particular night, the Farplane was dank and misty. The asphodel field was wet with early morning dew that caught on her bare legs like spider webs—if such things even existed in the Farplane. It was cold, clammy, and utterly silent. Ugh. Not Sesera's favorite place.

She'd ditched the parties for this, and all the while she was hoping that no one had noticed her absence. The always 'grown-up' Emie, now newly married with a kid on the way, would hardly have approved of Sesera running off now that she was in her late twenties, and she knew better, etc., etc. Screw that. There was something important to be done, and Emie, even with all her book-knowledge, could not have seen it.

Sesera had flown secretly, straight from Bikanel to Guadosalaam, in the small private airship she'd reconstructed at Djose while working for the Machine Faction. She had arrived quite late at night, but not late enough to avoid confronting some Guado. After a small altercation with the Guado (who were drunk) over parking and entrance fees to the Farplane, Sesera squeaked by, a few Gil poorer, nonetheless.

* * *

Now that she was inside, Sesera, not really having any idea how to go about her business, wandered around for a bit. Though damp and gloomily dark (the mist obscured many things, and it didn't help that it was night), the Farplane was still beautiful, with lilac and amethyst colors predominating, even in the water. Pyreflies were the main source of light in this place, and Sesera could still see, though how much was questionable. 

Finally, Sesera took a deep breath and said out loud, "Hey, anyone here?"

A cloud of pyreflies rose up in a majestic column in front of her as soon as the last syllable left her mouth, slowly forming into a translucent form of a not-so-familiar person, but even so—

"Sudran?" Sesera knew. "Ruf tet oui…?"

"Oh, Sesera. E'ja seccat oui. Muug yd oui, ymm knufh ib."

Sudran. _Mother._

"Sudran…" Sesera mumbled. She'd never really known her biological parents, it is true, but now she felt regretful. Her voice, the voice of this willowy blonde woman with a sad, serious expression on her face, as if quietly mourning the fact that she never got to see her daughter grow up, tugged at Sesera's blood and made it stir uneasily.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Sudran asked in Al Bhed, of course. "It is past time for sleep."

"Sudran, I have come to see someone."

"Ah, so you have." The woman pressed her lips together in a dejected smile. "I see it."

"Sudran. I'm—I forgot about you," Sesera blurted, suddenly feeling very guilty about not remembering that her parents were supposed to be here, they were dead after all, and they thought about her and she didn't return the favor, and—

"Trouble not your heart, my little one," Sudran soothed, reached out an airy hand to the young woman, but the fingers floated through Sesera's solid tanned flesh. "You seek one called…what was his name again…Sir Auron of Bevelle. You have a message to give him from someone else."

"Yes, Sudran," Sesera confirmed, "That's it." She held up a wrinkled piece of thin paper, folded.

"Stay, and he will come to you," Sudran said, gesturing behind her. "A moment longer."

"Sudran—" Sesera began, but the woman put a finger to her lips, signaling for her to hush. A tender smile graced her thin face. "It is no fault of yours that we left so early, daughter, before you could have ever known us. You have grown well without us. There is no need for shame."

* * *

The pyreflies dissembled in front of Sesera, and the image of her mother vanished. Sesera drew a rough arm against her eyes. Blinking away tears she pretended weren't there, she sniffled, and then held her breath as the pyreflies came together again to form the six-foot figure of the legendary Guardian she had come to see. He was exactly as Rikku had told her he would be. 

"So soon?" she asked flippantly.

"Who are you, and what do you want." His gruff baritone held no question mark.

"I have a letter for you, from Rikku. Being as that you can't hold solid things, I'm taking the liberty of reading it to you." Sesera arched an eyebrow. "So listen up."

He said nothing.

Sesera unfolded the piece of paper, and pulled out a small pocket flashlight to read it. The flashlight didn't work, much to her chagrin. "Hey, man, lend me a pyrefly or two?"

In response, a mass of pyreflies floated up till it was directly over the manuscript, a very propitious position. "Thank you. Now, here—" she hemmed importantly, trying to smother a bit of nervousness, and began to read.

* * *

_Dear Auron,_

_I know you must be thinking I'm nuts to be writing a letter when I could just come on over and tell you what I have to say, but I have an explanation, and maybe it isn't any good but that's the way I feel, and I felt this is the right way because I don't want to say good-bye and maybe I don't have to but it sure seems like I should, and damn this letter isn't going anywhere, I have to find my place_

Sesera paused. "The ink's smudged. Hold on a bit." She blinked, and suddenly understood. Teardrops.

_Anyway, if you're hearing these words, I'm getting married. I don't know if you're going to feel anything by that but I wanted you to know. Gippal, well he asked me only a month ago, it took him two years since Tidus came back to ask me, and you don't know him but I think that's for the best, and I knew you wouldn't want me to say no just cause of you even though I really wanted to, but I can't ignore him, I love him but not like I could_

Another pause. More ink smudges.

_I miss you, I miss you lots. I wonder where you are at night and wonder if you feel happy or sad or you're just sleeping and dreaming like a Fayth only that your dreams don't become cities and people like Tidus, and I wonder if I'm in your dream, maybe not because you have a lot of happier things to dream about, and I carry your memory around like a stone, it doesn't weigh as much as it used to and I don't think Yunie knows, or anybody knows. I want to blame you cause you wrote that letter and you've been growing on me since and I pretend that everything's okay and it is but it isn't. You were cranky and mean to me but you never hated me, I never felt you hated me, and I'm glad, but you aren't here and so it's not the same, but Tidus is back and you're not, because you're dead and he just wasn't. And I don't know why I'm rambling like this, this has no point, I just wanted you to hear that I'm still thinking about you and can't get rid of you, and I'll never forget you as long as I live, and maybe I'll wake up tomorrow morning and decide not to go through with the wedding, and it's because of you, you big meany. I knew you were undead but I didn't care about that so much then when we found out because you looked too old anyway but now I care because you were mean enough to make me start liking you just when you had to go. You were in my dreams, but not anymore, and I wonder where you've gone, maybe it's because I've accepted your death a little more, but I wish you were here with me and it's not fair but it is kind of fair because you were dead anyway. And all I have is the Katana, do you know I can use it now. I'll be pledging myself to another man tomorrow, and I wish it was you but it can't be you, and I don't know if I can stand it waking up every morning and wishing you were there instead of him. Then why am I marrying him? He'd do something crazy like commit suicide if I said no. I want to say I love him, but I don't want you to feel bad, even if you did tell me to go and get married, I know that you'd still feel jealous. You were just that way, Auron, always pretending you weren't feeling anything but look at you and me now._

_And now that I think about it, you and I, we seem more real in my memory, all the times you yelled at me, and I always think about rainbows and unicorns and butterflies and chocolate chip cookies and everything nice every time I remember, all things new and fresh and clean and sweet, and it stays more vivd in my memory than if I came to see you. Don't get mad, Auron, we are more real in my memory, and I want to live that dream, it doesn't make sense I know, but seeing you here and knowing you're dead, it would break the whole illusion and I'd go home and cry till my lungs collapsed and I'd never see rainbows and butterflies and chocolate chip cookies ever again if I thought of you as dead and gone and nothing but a foggy picture in a purple land filled with nothing but water and glow-in-the-dark flies, your shade here on earth that I can't hug and wish would hold me. I hate the fact that the Farplane is on Spira, it should be far far away, where I know I can't reach it, a place where I can believe you're real and warm and alive. But this is…it._

_You wrote me a letter so I'm writing you a letter. I hope your dreams of me are sweet, just like mine are of you, you big meany. E muja oui._

_Love,_

_Rikku_

* * *

Sesera, who had teared up during the reading, blinked the drops away, and looked the translucent figure in his half-hidden face. "So she sent me to read it, and that's it. That's all I came here to do." 

She turned on her heel, and added, without looking back, "By the way, she went through with the wedding. She was married this morning. She also wanted me to tell her that she's not scared of thunder anymore, not as much as she used to be."

No answer. Sesera heaved a sigh, and began to walk away.

"Wait."

"Hmm?" Sesera stopped and turned partway around. "Did you say something?"

The image of Auron slowly began to dissolve in pale green light. Pyreflies began to disassemble once more. By the time his words reached Sesera's ears, they were nothing more than a whispering sigh.

"I will always wait for her."

* * *

Sesera almost lost it. She didn't like crying, but she rubbed at her face, trying to rid herself of the tears that were now flowing, and trying to unclog her running nose. Clearing her throat gruffly, she tore the paper up into many small pieces, into the cloud of pyreflies, and let them float to the asphodel-covered ground. 

"For you, Rikku," she whispered, and turned to leave the Farplane for the first and last time in this life.

* * *

Sesera passed through the gates, past the drunken Guado who were still there, drinking themselves into oblivion and climbed into the airship. Looking back at the entrance, she added, "Goodbye, Sudran." 

She fired up the engine, grabbing a handkerchief and wiping her face. The comm.-sphere near the control panel suddenly spurted to life as she prepared for takeoff.

"Sesera! You idiot! Where are you? What are you doing out there? It's past midnight!" It was Emie, who didn't hide the concern in her voice and she tore into her friend. Behind her, Sesera could still see that the post-nuptial party was still raging full throttle.

"Emie," Sesera said, ignoring Emie's concerned spluttering, "Is Rikku still awake?"

"Rikku? Why, surprisingly, yes. And, do you know, she hasn't drunk a sip of alcohol tonight, so she's sober!"

"Let me talk to her. Private. Now, Emie!"

Emie vanished from sight for a moment, and Sesera pushed the thrusters, lifting off. By the time Rikku appeared on the sphere, Sesera's airship was already high in the air and racing away from Guadosalaam.

"Sesera?"

"Hey, there." Sesera turned her sphere to make it face her. "I did what you told me to do." How sad she looked, Sesera noted. And how very tired.

"Anything else?" Rikku asked softly.

"He said he'd wait for you. That's all he said." Sesera smiled comfortingly, as best as she could. "I'll be back at Home in about an hour. Don't wear yourself out."

"No, Sesera," she said, and then added, "Did you remember to…destroy it?"

"Sure did." Sesera nodded. Rikku smiled sadly, her lips parting.

"Thanks."

"No prob."

The comm.-sphere turned off. Sesera shifted her gaze back to the black, star-ridden sky and radar screen—all clear tonight, in the dark of very early morning. Today, Rikku was a wife. Later on, a mother, and, if she lived, she'd be a grandmother. And then…who knew? Who can say?

No matter what happened next, even if the sweet dreams of rainbows and butterflies and chocolate-chip cookies withstood the test of life and time, and remained for the rest of her life, the letters were now gone.

The correspondence ended, and with that, one hauntingly bittersweet secret between two hearts would now, at least in this life, be forever sealed.

* * *

**FIN** part 4 

Author's Note:

And so ends "Correspondence". I know it may have focused a bit too heavily on Sesera, but the reason I did not let Rikku speak face-to-face with Auron is because 'what could have been' is more beautiful in memory.

Thanks to all my reviewers, and remember that though this story is now ended, there are many more to be told. So keep on reading. Cheers to all.

Kairos27


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